We all know that Brad Marchand scored 21 regular-season goals and 11 playoff goals while serving as a spectacular spark plug for the Bruins on their way to the Stanley Cup title last season.

For him to make good on his new two-year, $5 million contract, which was officially announced today, he has to continue to stay in the lineup and make smart decisions when it comes to agitating or knowing when to back off and just play hockey.

As I recount in my NHL.com story tonight, there were some rough patches for Marchand during his mostly electric rookie season. There was the bush league golf swing toward the Toronto bench. There was the two-game suspension for the hit to the head on R.J. Umberger. And, of course, the benching he suffered through in New York near mid-March.

To his credit, Marchand admitted during a conference call to announce the end of his restricted free agent status today that he is still learning and maturing.

“I feel like throughout the year I got better at controlling my emotions,” he said.”There were times during the playoffs that the got the best of me. But for the most part the coaching staff did a great job of leading me in the right direction. And I felt as the older you get the more mature you get, and the more you play in this league the better I’ll be able to learn how to control it. I’m still a young player, I’m still trying to learn every day. That’s all part of the game.”

We’ll see if Marchand can back up his words and continue to help the Bruins more than hurt them as this season unfolds. Teams are going to take the ice with a chip on their shoulders against the defending Cup champs, and they’re going to look for every edge in an attempt to down the kings. Goading Marchand into some silly business will definitely be part of that strategy.

If Marchand is definitely the second coming of Ken “The Rat” Linseman, he has to be careful about taking the cheese.

I suspect he still has a way to go to learn the balance of when is a good time to play his agitator role and when he needs to back off.

He is also going to have a lot of opportunity this year. I suspect he will stay on Bergeron’s wing and will have the chance to be more productive with a year of increased icetime with a really good centerman.

I honestly see Marchand getting better-better at the game and better at recognizing how to use his role effectively without crossing the line.

This might be slightly biased by black and gold glasses, but I feel like Marchand and the coaching staff had done a good job keeping the pest side of Marchand of the right side of the line. No doubt he is annoying as hell to opponents, but other than cheap slashes to the back of the legs of a few players and the questionable hit he was (rightfully) suspended for, his antics aren’t as bad as Avery or Ott etc. I bet he chirps it up like Subban, but I don’t see Marchand dive really. All in all, it’s the sort of agitator I’m O.K. with having because he doesn’t do something really stupid (think Avery facing Brodeur and waving his stick up and down or Cooke….)